It is past time to radically reassess the United States' role in the organization, for far bigger reasons.
President Trump probably put the case most bluntly — as he is wont to do — by pointing out during his speech that he had resolved several military conflicts, resulting in ceasefires or peace agreements between India and Pakistan, Israel and Iran, Armenia and Azerbaijan, Cambodia and Thailand, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo, and de-escalations in others. At the same time, the UN did nothing to stop those conflicts or offer help to Trump.
"What is the purpose of the United Nations?" he rightly asked. All the institution does is "write a really strongly worded letter and then never follow that letter up." Well, yes, Mr. President. And that is the best that can be said.
Because the real problem with the UN is the very concept, there are 193 sovereign nations in the UN, basically every nation on the planet. The idea was that, after the devastation of WWII, such a global organization would prevent war, promote cooperation, uphold human rights, and advance global well-being. To do this, the UN grants each member nation one vote in the General Assembly, regardless of size, power, or contribution in hopes of attaining this global kumbaya.
But the flaw is pretty straightforward. If all nations are members, who are they united against? If the most tyrannical, human-rights-violating nations are sitting side-by-side with free (or now, semi-free) Western nations, what exactly is the unity for, and against? Of course, this built-in conflict plays out all the time. Just last week, more than 75 countries walked out when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu began speaking.
The UN passes more resolutions against the free, democratic state of Israel than the rest of the world and all its tyrants combined. Why? Well, there are 57 Muslim nations. Russia and Ukraine are both members of the UN. Why has there been no action against Russia's invasion of Ukraine? Because Russia is one of the five Security Council members with veto powers. The others are the United States, China, Britain, and France. United there?
So it was functionally handicapped from the very beginning. It does a lot of talking and not much doing, as President Trump pointed out. However, it costs U.S. taxpayers a lot of money and lets criminals go free on U.S. soil.
When the UN operating budget, peacekeeping budget, and various agency contributions are totalled, the U.S. pays anywhere from $15 billion to more than $20 billion annually. As one of 193 nations, we cover over 25 percent of the UN budget. And that does not include the 18 acres of prime real estate the UN headquarters sits on in Manhattan, and no taxes are paid.
Furthermore, the UN enjoys a quasi-diplomatic status, meaning the diplomats and support staff from 193 nations are granted immunity from all criminal prosecution in the U.S. This has resulted in atrocities like a South Sudan diplomat charged with twice raping a New York woman in his apartment being released from custody because of immunity. Numerous diplomats have been set free after criminal charges, and every New Yorker knows they get essentially free parking because they don't have to pay parking tickets.
And what do we get? Our President is treated shamefully, and our interests are crapped on in votes. The UN General Assembly has passed resolutions against the U.S. for the embargo against the brutal Communist Cuba regime, multiple military interventions, supporting Israel over "Palestine," and more. Why? Because there are a lot of countries that hate us, and the UN is their avenue for showing it. Yet we host and fund it.
The UN is a petty, dysfunctional farce and waste. There is zero point in the U.S. continuing to fund and participate in the charade. We should pull out our money and resources and tell them to find another home. Tehran or Moscow might like the economic stimulus.
Rod Thomson is a former daily newspaper reporter and columnist, Salem radio host and ABC TV commentator, and current Founder of The Thomson Group, a Florida-based political consulting firm. He has eight children,seven grandchildren, and a rapacious hunger to fight for America for them. Follow him on Twitter at @Rod_Thomson. Email him at [email protected].
